


Don't Go 'Round Willy Nilly

by pinwheelwhirl



Category: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinwheelwhirl/pseuds/pinwheelwhirl
Summary: "I'm... whatever you said. In-de-pen-dent!""Aren't you a little young to be independent?"A bit of an extension of the scene where Rudolph and Hermey meet, in which Hermey feels protective.





	Don't Go 'Round Willy Nilly

Hermey shivered as he burrowed through the fluffy snow. It wasn’t very dignified, but it was the only way to get away from the castle undetected. He simply couldn’t continue slumming in that workshop. The constant harassment from the other elves and the beratement from the foreman had done its damage several times over, and he just refused to put up with it any longer.

Getting away was tedious work. He could only dig with one hand, as the other was curled around his beloved dentistry book. The elf had no idea where he was underneath the snow; he could only hope he wasn’t just going around in circles. The cold getting too much to bear, Hermey figured he’d gotten far enough away from the castle. He cleared away the snow above him and stuck his head out to look around. He found himself under a pine tree, where a young reindeer seemed to be sulking.

“Oh… is this your snowbank?” Hermey asked. _He looks awful young to be out here by himself…_ he thought.

“No… who are you?”

Hermey struggled to heave himself out of the hole. The fawn tried to help him, grabbing his tunic collar with his teeth and tugging. Once on the surface, Hermey pulled his hat from his head and shook the snow off.

“Well, actually... I am a dentist.”

“A… dentist?” The young deer seemed confused. _He hasn’t even_ **_heard_ ** _of a dentist,_ Hermey thought. _I tell them over and over Christmastown needs a dentist, but do they listen?_

“Well, I want to be. Someday. Right now, I’m just an elf,” Hermey confessed, picking up his book from where he’d dropped it and setting his hat back upon his head. He suddenly felt he had to justify himself to the kid, though he wasn’t sure why. “But… but I don’t need anybody. I’m… I’m independent!”

_Independent as in completely alone with no friends or anywhere to go, but still, independent._

“Yeah? Me too! I’m… whatever you said. In-de-pen-dent!”

Hermey observed the reindeer and his surroundings more closely. A quick glance around showed that he wasn’t quite as far from the castle as he’d hoped to get; he seemed to be near where the reindeer had their training. The young deer’s bright red nose stood out immediately, but the elf found himself more concerned about the fawn, who, judging by his small antlers, should probably be _at_ the reindeer games, not hiding under a tree by himself and looking depressed. He decided to tell him so.

“Aren’t you a little young to be independent? Where are you parents?”

The deer looked down at the snow covered ground. He was silent for a long time before answering. “They won’t want me back. They wouldn’t want me for a son.”

Hermey certainly wasn’t expecting _that._ “Now, that can’t be true.”

“Yes it is. I embarrassed them in front of everyone. In front of _Santa._ ” The reindeer wouldn’t look at him. “They all kept calling me names. They said I can’t come back to…” He trailed off. Hermey assumed the boy meant he had been told to leave Christmastown. He couldn’t believe anyone could do such a thing to someone so young.

“Why… why would they--” Hermey cut himself off when the deer’s suddenly nose lit up, a shiny bright red, accompanied by a harsh whistling sound.

“...Oh.” _Was that_ **_it_ ** _?_ Hermey wondered, appalled. _His nose is red, so they banish him forever?_

The fawn had tears in his eyes now. “I can’t go back. My folks kept saying it was shameful and no one could know. My dad tried to hide it, and it worked for awhile… but now everyone knows. They’ll… I just… I can’t go back there.”

Hermey thought for a moment. He didn’t personally know any of the reindeer, and while he really didn’t want to believe that any of them would just disown their children because of things beyond anyone’s control, he also knew that pretty much everyone in Christmastown was incredibly stubborn and stuck in their ways. Additionally, he knew what the boy was going through perfectly well. Being a misfit was the worst feeling imaginable.

Hermey knew he needed to get out of there, before the foreman realized he was missing and went off to track him down and drag him to elf practice. But he certainly couldn’t leave the young fawn to fend for himself; someone had to look after him. _Maybe…_

“Hey… what do you say we both be independent together, huh?”

The deer looked up at him, hopeful. The light of his snout flared again. “You wouldn’t mind my… red nose?”

Hermey shook his head. “Not if you don’t mind me being a dentist.”

The reindeer seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he stuck out a hoof to him. “It’s a deal.”

Hermey grinned and shook the boy’s hoof. He threw an arm around the deer’s neck as they headed off into the forest. “My name is Hermey, by the way.”

“...I’m Rudolph.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have an idea for a second chapter so I guess this is my life now


End file.
